Strider remake a welcome blast of nostalgia (review)

I took a spin through Double Helix Games’[1] reboot of the 1989 classic arcade side-scroller Strider. As I stepped into the reimagined world of one of Capcom’s most iconic franchises, I found a frenzy of bullet-reflecting, missile-dodging, death-defying platforming that was a welcome throwback to my formative years as a gamer on the SNES.

It’s not surprising that Strider’s rebirth works so well. Double Helix Games is the same group behind the acclaimed Killer Instinct reboot on Xbox One.

Now, in conjunction with Strider’s original developer, Capcom[2], Double Helix Games has managed to create an experience that goes beyond the routine hack and slash. Available for download (on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3 and PC), Strider is a must-play for gamers past and present.

Strider is the story of lone wolf ninja Hiryu, the youngest recruit to ever attain the special-A rank in the grueling Strider program. Hiryu’s struggle takes place in the futuristic, dystopian metropolis of Kazakh City, where he seeks to assassinate Grand Master Meio, who rules with an iron fist.

But plot matters little. Strider is all about the action.

What sets Strider apart from other titles is that the action stays consistently fresh. Through three game modes — a single-player story, a survival mode, and a beacon mode (essentially a platforming time trial) — Strider maintains its intensity with innovative level design and varying challenges.

Instead of making every level a corridor in which Hiryu advances from left to right, Strider forces gamers to explore various heights, depths and even backtrack to the last checkpoint. As Hiryu makes his way to the next objective, players encounter a variety of obstacles from constant bombardment by a host of Meio’s subjects to deftly navigating platforming perils like clinging to crab-infested sewer walls to avoid bubbling toxic sludge.

Hiryu begins his adventure with his trusty Cypher, a plasma-charged weapon that takes on different properties as players advance. The more power-ups Hiryu collects, the stronger he becomes. And as his strength increases, so does the entertainment value. I marveled as I charged Hiryu’s Cypher and unleashed an attack that cut three enemies in half with a single stroke. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as using a perfectly-timed, charged strike to reflect a bullet back at opponents, instantly vaporizing them. The cool sound effect the sword makes is an added bonus.

Hiryu reflects a bullet at an unlucky opponent. Photo provided by Double Helix.

Double Helix Games doesn’t give Hiryu potent abilities without reason. The game is challenging. I was always peppered with bullets from numerous enemies. I defeated a mini boss only to encounter two later in the same level. And truly, the platforming challenges required me to use all of Hiryu’s abilities.

One of the places Hiryu explores is Kazakh City’s research lab. In one of the rooms, I had to navigate Hiryu through a series of lasers that would incinerate him on contact. At one point, I double-jumped between two lasers — one above and one below Hiryu — and then dashed mid-air to the next platform. Moments later, the game made me repeat the feat but this time with an enemy firing at Hiryu from the platform for which he was aiming.

In one of the better boss battles, the game pits Hiryu against three assassins. I was on the edge of my seat, dodging energy attacks, spinning strikes and leaping lances. I staved off their onslaught of strikes with well timed jumps. I cornered each assassin and picked them off one at a time. It’s moments like this that had me yelling, “I am Strider Hiryu!” at the the top of my lungs (much to my roommate’s chagrin).

Strengths aside, the game’s 2D, side-scrolling backgrounds look so similar it’s difficult at times to figure what’s in foreground and what’s not — and which way to go. Although the game’s controls are smooth and easy to pick up, the controls for Hiryu’s sliding dash often interfered with the controls for sending him down through platforms. In some of the more intense moments, it proved disastrous.

Strider is a remake of an older title and gamers should understand that going in. It doesn’t offer the gameplay diversity of modern titles. The story is fairly simple, and there aren’t a litany of side quests. Hiryu’s actions don’t lead to alternate storylines or endings.

But aside from some minor control and graphics issues, Strider is the rare title that transports me back to the days when I originally fell in love with gaming.